Shelby County, Tennessee

Shelby County
County
Shelby County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°11′N 89°53′W / 35.18°N 89.89°W / 35.18; -89.89
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	November 24, 1819
Named for	Isaac Shelby[1]
Seat	Memphis
Largest city	Memphis
Government
• Mayor	Lee Harris (D)[2]
Area
• Total	785 sq mi (2,030 km2)
• Land	763 sq mi (1,980 km2)
• Water	22 sq mi (60 km2)  2.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	929,744
• Estimate  (2023)	910,042
• Density	1,194/sq mi (461/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	8th, 9th
Website	www.shelbycountytn.gov

Shelby County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 929,744.^[3] It is the largest of the state's 95 counties, both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis,^[4] a port on the Mississippi River and the second most populous city in Tennessee. The county was named for Governor Isaac Shelby (1750–1826) of Kentucky. It is one of only two remaining counties in Tennessee with a majority African American population, along with Haywood County.

Shelby County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. Located within the Mississippi Delta, the county was developed as a center of cotton plantations in the antebellum era, and cotton continued as an important commodity crop well into the 20th century. The economy has become more diversified.